Add Spartanburg, S.C., to the list of manufacturing hotspots. That's where BMW AG last week announced it will invest $1bn to build the equivalent of a new factory to its already formidable U.S. production site. Following the expansion, BMW's U.S. complex will become the automaker's biggest, larger than any it operates in Germany, its home.

Ocean container import and export activity for the U.S. ended on a strong note in 2013, with imports soaring 17.7 percent and exports rising 5.7 percent from November. Both upticks are seasonally expected, but the import volume was especially stronger than normal.